While it may sound like I'm trolling, I'm honestly not trying to. Swear.

But what makes Harper so special? He's shown over three years now that he can't begin to compete for a regular-season title/at-large bid. His two top-flight, all-conference caliber players are holdovers from McDonald.

I understand that he had those two SBC tournament championships but - again, not trolling just stating facts - he avoided Middle in both of those tournaments.

I just don't see how this team is going to stay competitive next year with Fant and Price gone, so why do a large portion of WKU fans still believe that Harper is the second coming of John Wooden?

Thanks, I'll hang up and listen.

To quote MT's womens coach-They did not give out any trophies after yesterday's game.

(02-23-2015 11:34 AM)TOPSTRAIGHT Wrote:  To quote MT's womens coach-They did not give out any trophies after yesterday's game.

So WKU fans are now happy to be mediocre during the regular season as long as they play well come tournament time? I just always thought WKU had higher standards than that.

Not gonna bite.


P.S.- Congrats to MT on a good game.

Just go read haven. Multiple threads that are basically "Harper sucks, he a D-2 coach" vs "Harper is fine, It takes time to dig out of a hole/look at Gregg Marshall, he didn't make NCAA until his 5th year."

TJ Price was a Harper recruit when he was under McDummy and Fant was coming to WKU regardless of who coached.

I haven't watched a ton of WKU games, so I'll just comment on the recruiting side of things I see.

Harper seems like he is putting together some nice classes. We'll probably see in the next two years how well he does with his own recruits and none of the leftovers from the previous coach.

In first 2 1/2 seasons:

2 NCAA appearances
1 NCAA win
10-1 conference tournament record

WKU fans measure success with post-season success. Not bad for a down period in recent WKU history.

Harper is probably the most polarizing head coach we've had since Clem Haskins. One side of the fan base likes his old school, tactician approach and think it's just a matter of time till he will start winning big. The other side think he misses out on the top targets in recruiting, and is not able to get the team to perform consistently from November to March. There is a level of truth with both arguments but when you consider the shamble Ken McDonald left the program in - the administration is probably happy he's returned the program to some level of stability. The jury is still out and I think he will need to upgrade recruiting in order to make a move to the next level.

(03-01-2015 01:16 AM)doughtyrowdy Wrote:  Harper is probably the most polarizing head coach we've had since Clem Haskins. One side of the fan base likes his old school, tactician approach and think it's just a matter of time till he will start winning big. The other side think he misses out on the top targets in recruiting, and is not able to get the team to perform consistently from November to March. There is a level of truth with both arguments but when you consider the shamble Ken McDonald left the program in - the administration is probably happy he's returned the program to some level of stability. The jury is still out and I think he will need to upgrade recruiting in order to make a move to the next level.

Yep, that sums it up perfectly.

(03-01-2015 01:16 AM)doughtyrowdy Wrote:  Harper is probably the most polarizing head coach we've had since Clem Haskins. One side of the fan base likes his old school, tactician approach and think it's just a matter of time till he will start winning big. The other side think he misses out on the top targets in recruiting, and is not able to get the team to perform consistently from November to March. There is a level of truth with both arguments but when you consider the shamble Ken McDonald left the program in - the administration is probably happy he's returned the program to some level of stability. The jury is still out and I think he will need to upgrade recruiting in order to make a move to the next level.

This is a great post. Most people don't realize how deep of a hole we were in before he took over. Jury is still out but he is doing better and bringing us out of the whole we were in.

A lot of people like Ray because he loves WKU while other coaches we have had for the most part looked at the WKU job as a terrific opportunity to move on to a higher level conference or a high level stepping stone.
Harper has done a pretty good job so far but there are times we lose games in stretches to teams you expect to beat. Recruiting seems to be the biggest question mark with defections and disappointments popping up more than expected.
You will find the same issues at any program where winning is in the pedigree and fans expect 20+ wins and NCAA bids every year. Next year might be the true litmus test for Harper.

Before all is said and done Harper will be the DEAN of CUSA coaches!
You read it here first.

One thing that gets lost in all of this is really how difficult it became in recent years to recruits players of the caliber WKU has had to play in the Sun Belt. I can tell you that the coaches can see a difference from the Sun Belt to CUSA when talking to recruits. A lot more doors are open because of the move. WKU fans will see that first hand beginning next year with the quality of recruits that has signed with WKU.
Chris McNeal is considered the best PG in Tennessee and one of the top PG in the country. Marlon Hunter the the top SG in Memphis and we all know the history of guards out of Memphis. Fredrick Edmond is a first team all-American JUCO and leading scorer on the number 1 JUCO team in the country. No one of these players would have committed to a WKU in the SunBelt. We are in with kids now that are of the caliber to put WKU back in the spot light and Harper will get it done.

(03-01-2015 11:35 AM)GreekTopper Wrote:  Fred Ed had 18 points and 18 REBOUNDS in their regional championship win last night and they are now headed to the national championship round! The Hilltoppers will always be competitive under Harper. He can out coach any coach in CUSA. We believe!

One thing that gets lost in all of this is really how difficult it became in recent years to recruits players of the caliber WKU has had to play in the Sun Belt. I can tell you that the coaches can see a difference from the Sun Belt to CUSA when talking to recruits. A lot more doors are open because of the move. WKU fans will see that first hand beginning next year with the quality of recruits that has signed with WKU.
Chris McNeal is considered the best PG in Tennessee and one of the top PG in the country. Marlon Hunter the the top SG in Memphis and we all know the history of guards out of Memphis. Fredrick Edmond is a first team all-American JUCO and leading scorer on the number 1 JUCO team in the country. No one of these players would have committed to a WKU in the SunBelt. We are in with kids now that are of the caliber to put WKU back in the spot light and Harper will get it done.

(03-01-2015 11:35 AM)Dudleytop Wrote:  Before all is said and done Harper will be the DEAN of CUSA coaches!
You read it here first.

You mean he will outlive Kermit?

(03-01-2015 04:10 PM)SpaceRaider Wrote:  [quote='Dudleytop' pid='11823532' dateline='1425227706']
Before all is said and done Harper will be the DEAN of CUSA coaches!
You read it here first.

You mean he will outlive Kermit?

Harper no doubt can hang with anyone on X's and O's of the game, however like other WKU fans have said he has to step up in recruiting and or find assistants who will do a better job recruiting....I hope this past fall the players we signed is a step in the right direction, on paper certainly looks that way....